The Water Baby
by jenorama
Summary: It's close to Ginny's due date for her first child and she's very uncomfortable. Harry comes up with a novel way to help her out, unknowingly echoing his own parents.


I was just about to close my hand on the golden Snitch when I found myself rudely awakened by my wife, tossing and turning about on the bed. "All right, Gin?" I mumbled, or rather thought I mumbled.

"What?" Ginny asked, looking at me as if I had just said something rude in Swahili to her. I could see in the low light of the moon that she was not in a mood to be trifled with and I shook off the remnants of the dream. A pity, they were all chanting my name.

I sat up and used my wand to raise the lights in the room a little. Ginny lay flat on her back, arms and legs splayed out, looking like a disgruntled owl as she blinked in the light. "All right?" I asked again, clearing my throat. I glanced at the clock, two a.m. looking back at me.

"No," she responded shortly, pushing her hair out of her face. Since she'd gotten pregnant, it had gone into overdrive and was the longest I'd ever seen it. "My back hurts, my hips hurt and my knees ache. I'm hot and when I take the covers off I get too cold."

Stuart the cat chose that moment to hop up on the bed next to her and I grabbed him into my lap before she could swat him away. "Sorry, love. Anything I can do?"

She blew out a breath and seemed to calm down a little. "No. It's just the relaxin making me ache and the increased blood flow making me a hot and sweaty mess. Knowing what's causing it doesn't make it easier, though." She struggled to sit up and I pushed the cat out of my lap, taking her hands and helping her.

Upright, Ginny rubbed her hands over her huge belly and grimaced. "Oh this kid," she groaned. "I swear he's leading a conga line in there."

I put my hand over hers, feeling the strange, pulsing movements of our child, a primal sort of thrill in my gut at the sensation. "You sure there's only one in there?"

"I hope so. Settle down, baby. Mummy needs to sleep," she pleaded and I felt a rush of guilt for my previously blissful sleep.

I got out of bed, the chilly floorboards banishing any remnant of sleep. "What are you doing?" Ginny asked as I went into the en suite bath.

"I am going to run my darling, wonderful wife a bath," I said. "You know that's the only way to get him to calm down."

"Or her. And a bath does sound lovely." She smiled at me, the expression transforming her from a tired woman in her eighth month of pregnancy to the most beautiful woman in the world and I felt my heart speed up at the sight.

A few minutes later I scattered a handful of the lavender-scented bath stuff she'd become so fond of lately into the steaming hot water. The temperature was perfect and I set a charm on it to keep it that way before heading back out into the bedroom. Ginny lay against the headboard, eyes closed and I gently ran my finger down her cheek. "Gin," I said softly, watching as her eyes fluttered open. "Still want the bath?"

"Yes, please. I feel disgusting from being all sweaty." She held her hands out to me and I helped her out of the bed, keeping a hand near the small of her back as she made her way to the bath, cursing her new, wobbly walk. Inside, she stripped off the light nightdress that was all she could tolerate, even in the middle of a San Francisco winter and stepped into the oversized tub, sighing with happiness as she sank down into the water.

Leaning against the back of the tub, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, some of the stress leaving her face. "Harry, this is wonderful. You're the best husband ever."

"Good to know I'm good for something," I said, pulling my tee shirt over my head and tossing it in the general direction of the hamper.

"What are you doing?"

"You don't get to be the only one to enjoy a warm bath in the middle of the night. Budge up, yeah?" I stepped out of my boxers and helped Ginny scoot forward in the tub, stepping in and settling behind her. "Come on, lean back." She rested her back against my chest, sighing again when I put my arms around her, resting my hands on her belly. I felt the fluttering kicks of our child gradually slow and stop. "Better?" I whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Mmm …" she murmured, sounding half-asleep. "Thank you." She turned her head and gave me a kiss, her lips soft against mine before nestling against my chest once more. We sat quietly, surrounded by gently steaming water and the soft scent of lavender.

My own eyes had started to drift closed when I felt Ginny shift against me. "Need something?"

"I wish we had some music." I made to get up but she pressed more firmly against me. "Don't get up. Sing to me." Momentarily taken aback, I started humming the first thing that came to mind. "Is that Ants Marching?" she asked, a mixture of surprise and amusement in her voice.

"Yes? I thought you like Dave Matthews."

"I do, but Ants Marching? Really? Why not Crash Into Me or The Space Between?"

A hot flush of embarrassment rose to my cheeks and I squeezed her harder. "I dunno. It was the first thing I thought of."

"Carry on then."

"I don't want to now. You sing to me."

"I don't want to wake the baby."

"Well now I can't get Ants Marching out of my head."

"Keep it to yourself, then," she said, patting my cheek with a wet hand. I grabbed it and kissed her palm, closing my eyes as she relaxed against me, letting her closeness work its own special magic on me.

The warm water and the late hour did its work and I felt my eyes growing heavier. I leaned my head back, wishing I had my wand handy to cast a Cushioning charm. _I could try it wandless, but that's too much work,_ I thought. Another flutter against my hand announced Baby Potter's presence and Ginny let out a soft grunt. "All right?"

"Yeah. Surprised me is all," she said through a yawn. "I thought he'd settled down."

"He?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Or she." Ginny put her hand on top of mine and squeezed. "Does it matter to you?"

"No. Ten fingers, ten toes and the both of you safe and happy." And I meant it. Ever since word had gotten out about Ginny's pregnancy, it seemed like I'd been under a constant deluge of well-wishers, all of them absolutely certain that I was hoping for a boy. "What about you?"

"Same. I just want it to be over with. Some women go on and on about how much they love being pregnant. I just want my body back," she said. "I want to stop being public property."

I knew exactly what she was talking about. It seemed like every time we stepped out of the house, Ginny's pregnant belly was an invitation for complete strangers to touch her or give her advice on how she was undoubtedly doing everything wrong. Teddy had even come out of his teenaged self-absorption and noticed it when we were out to dinner one night.

"Jeez Ginny, that's like the third person tonight!" he'd said, glaring at the woman who had just left our table after having lectured Ginny about taking her vitamins. "Why don't you tell them you're a doctor?"

"It won't make any difference, love. I doubt they even hear anything I say," she said, frustration making her stab at her salad.

"Well, I'll start asking annoying personal questions to the next person that comes up to you and see how they like it," he said staunchly, making Ginny smile.

"Soon, love," I said, sweeping her hair aside and kissing the delicate shell of her ear. She wiggled her bottom against me, momentarily sparking naughty thoughts, but we were trying to get the baby to settle down and that was not one of the things that did the trick.

"What are you thinking?" Ginny said after several quiet moments.

"You're chatty tonight." I rubbed her shoulders, delighting in her hum of pleasure.

"I can't shut off my brain. Your soothing voice will put me to sleep."

"Shall I lecture on the twelve uses of dragon's blood?"

"Ugh, no. I mean it, what are you thinking about? What's on your mind?"

What was on my mind? "Oh, well, Ants Marching is in there," I said, getting a splash of water in return. "I dunno, you, the baby, work … Mum and Dad." That last bit surprised me and as I thought about it more, I realized it was true. As I watched Ginny's pregnancy advance and anticipated becoming a father, I'd been thinking more and more of them.

"Your mum and dad?" Ginny asked, turning her head a little. "What are you thinking?"

Suddenly self-conscious, I shrugged. "Nothing in particular, I guess. I was kind of wondering what Mum was like when she was pregnant with me. What Dad was like."

"You mean did she send your dad all over the place for special treats?" Ginny asked, stroking my leg under the water.

"Yeah. Wonder if he had to go all the way down to London for the good cheese. Actually, I just realized I don't even know where I was born. Was I born in London? Godric's Hollow?"

"Want me to ask Mum?"

"Maybe. It's not a big deal." I ran my hand through her thicker-than-ever hair. "Don't worry about my thoughts, all right? Relax and get some rest."

"You're right." She sank down a little further in the water, putting her hands over mine where they rested on her belly. I ran my thumbs softly against the taut skin, listening as her breathing deepened and slowed into sleep. Once again regretting my lack of cushioning, I tilted my head back against the tiles and closed my eyes, letting my mind drift off on lavender-scented clouds.

* * *

James pulled the covers over his head, trying to block out the buzzing in his ear. _What's a bloody mosquito doing in here?_ he thought groggily, attempting to swat it away. Abruptly, the buzzing resolved into a voice hissing his name.

"James!"

James jerked awake, sweeping the covers away and sitting up. "Lily? What's happening? Is it time?" He looked at his wife in the bed next to him, anxiously searching her face for signs that she was about to give birth.

"Rub my back," she said, laboriously turning over onto her side, hugely pregnant belly making her awkward and clumsy.

Blowing out a relieved breath, James snuggled up to his wife, marveling at how much heat she gave off now when before it seemed like she was always cold. "Why couldn't you be this pregnant in the middle of winter instead of the middle of summer?" he asked, digging his knuckles into the tight muscles of her lower back.

Lily groaned, encouraging him to dig in harder. "Whose fault is that?" she asked, the trace of a smile in her voice.

"Are you blaming me?"

"Who else would I blame? The milkman?" She groaned again and James continued digging at the knot under his knuckles until he felt it relax and subside.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" James put his lips against her shoulder, pressing a soft kiss there.

"Actually, yes. I got a note from Tunie today. She had her baby a few days ago."

James paused in his ministrations as he felt her tense up. He knew that she wished that she and Petunia were as close as they had been before magic had come between them and had been able to share their pregnancies as sisters should. "What did she have?"

"A boy. They're calling him Dudley."

"Oof, Dudley Dursley. That'll go down a treat. I thought they would have named him after your dad or something."

"I guess Brian wasn't good enough for that Vernon."

"Well, let's not name this one after my dad, all right? I love him to bits, but, well …" James massaged further up her back as Lily giggled.

"Your dad is a wonderful person, but no, I'm not saddling my child with the name 'Fleamont'. Oh, right there. Harder. Yes, that's it, love."

"I remember when you used to say that about other things we did together," James said, pleased when Lily giggled again.

"Oh, don't make me laugh, James. It makes the sprog kick harder."

James wrapped an arm around Lily, settling his hand on her distended belly, searching for the elusive flutters of the baby inside. "There he is, the little bugger," he said, a surge of pride rolling through him.

"That's done it. Now he'll be up all night. I swear my kidneys are black and blue by now," Lily grumbled, shifting against him as she tried to get comfortable.

"Here, let me try something." James moved around until his head was comfortably resting against her side, looking up to confirm that he wasn't causing her any problems. "Maybe this will help." Pushing aside a feeling of embarrassment, he took a deep breath and started singing softly.

 _"_ _Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long, and wouldn't be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong?"_ He felt Lily's hand on top of his head, twining her fingers in his thick hair as he kept singing. _"You know it's gonna make it that much better, when we can say goodnight and staaaaaaaaaaaaaay together."_

He looked up at his wife and grinned, the soft smile on her face making him feel like he could conquer the world and still be home in time for tea. "Anything?" A startling outline of a baby's foot appeared against her skin and James raised his eyebrows. "That's a no."

"A definite no." Lily grimaced and James had an uncharacteristic moment of helplessness.

 _There's got to be something I can do. I always come up with … ah!_ He snapped his fingers and got out of bed, grinning at the confused look on his wife's face. "Come on, love. Up." He took her hand and helped her sit up in the bed, admiring the lacy nightdress she'd taken to wearing in the warmer evenings.

"James, what? What are you on about?" she asked, utterly bewildered as he handed her a shirt and pair of trackies.

"As much as it suits you, you can't really go out like that." James pulled on a pair of jeans over his boxers, letting his tee shirt hang loose.

"Go out? It's the middle of the night! There's nowhere to go!" Lily protested as she put on the things he'd handed her.

She'd managed to get tangled up in the long-sleeved shirt and James helped her, smoothing the shirt over her belly. "There's plenty of places to go if you fly."

"James! You don't mean that! Flying at this time of night?" Despite her words, Lily's green eyes were dancing with excitement.

"Yeah! You know flying settles the little sprog right down." James helped Lily get her shoes on before putting on his own. "Listen, we'll pop down to Little Whinging and peep in at our new nephew, all right?" He saw the longing on her face and knew he had her. Taking her hand, he drew her in, wrapping his arms around her as he kissed her forehead. "It might be a while before you get to see either of them, yeah?" he said softly.

Lily heaved a sigh and nodded, reaching up to kiss him on the lips. "Yeah. I just wish …" she shook her head and squared her shoulders. "Well, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Let's go."

Excitement charged through him as he took her hand, leading her through the small cottage out into the back garden. "I don't know about flying by myself with my balance the way it is right now," Lily said in a worried tone. "And I don't know that we could both fit properly on your broom with this in the way."

James gave her his most confident smile as she patted her pregnant belly. She stood in the back garden, looking utterly charming in her oversized trackies, nearly engulfed by his jacket and he felt a protectiveness rise up in him so fierce that it almost took his breath away. Shaking himself, he threw open the door of the shed with a flourish. "We're not going to ride on brooms, love."

Sirius's motorbike gleamed, the moonlight reflecting off the blue paint and sparkling chrome. James was well aware that this thing was his best friend's pride and joy and he suffered only the smallest pang of conscience at the thought of taking it out on a joyride with his beautiful wife.

"James. We can't! Sirius will murder us in our sleep if something happens to it!" Lily protested, stepping up next to him, eyes avidly following the sleek lines of the motorbike.

"Nothing will happen. We'll just take a quick ride down and back, settle the little sprog, get a peep at another one and no one will ever be the wiser."

"Sirius left it with us to keep it safe while he's in the Midlands."

"And we are keeping it safe. Come on, love, just think of it; the wind in your hair, the stars high above," _me beside you,_ he finished to himself, body thrumming with excitement at the thought of flying through the warm summer night on Sirius's marvelous and painstakingly enchanted motorbike. He'd never been allowed to drive it and he very much wanted the experience.

"You're not going to let up, are you?" Lily asked with a sidelong look at him, eyes dark in the moonlight.

"Nope."

"All right." Lily heaved a put-upon sigh and held her hand out to him. "Help me into this damned thing."

"That's the spirit!" He helped Lily carefully settle into the cramped sidecar, conjuring up a wooly blanket for her lap. It was a warm evening on the ground, but speed and altitude would cool things down in a hurry and he didn't want her taking a chill. Once she was secure, he threw his leg over the frame, gingerly lowering himself down onto the seat.

Hands on the handlebars, James studied the constellation of buttons and dials in front of him, trying to remember the exact sequence Sirius executed. "Do you even know how to drive this thing?"

"Of course I know how to drive this thing," he said in a huff. "You just, erm, tap this?" He gently tapped the tip of his wand against a red button, frowning when nothing happened. "Or … this?"

"James …"

Waving his hand at Lily, James tapped another button. "Ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly when it started blinking bright green. "All right. Now …" He put his hands on the handlebars like he'd seen Sirius do what must have been a thousand times and stood up, placing his foot on the kick starter. The first, tentative kick yielded nothing, so he took a deep breath and kicked down on it as hard as he could, practically jumping out of his skin as the machine sputtered to life with a thunderous roar.

"Oh my goodness!" Lily exclaimed, holding tightly to the edge of the side car. "I'd forgotten how loud this thing is!"

"That's the sound of power, love!" James exhilarated in the feeling of the machine vibrating all around him, the sound of it beating against his ears. He felt a nudge against his leg and looked down to see Lily holding out a pair of goggles to him.

"I found them down by my feet!" she yelled over the sound of the engine, her own goggles fixed in place.

"All right?" James asked once he had his on over his glasses. His blood was singing and he was ready to bolt out of the shed and into the sky, but he had enough sense remaining to make sure his wife was fully on board with this adventure. _Self-preservation, some would say,_ he thought as Lily smiled up at him, nodding her readiness.

He twisted the throttle as he'd seen Sirius do and nearly fell off the thing as it shot forward, pulling hard to the left to avoid the garden gate that they barely cleared. Over the sound of the monstrous engine, he heard Lily clapping and laughing in delight and he twisted the throttle harder, shooting up into the nighttime sky almost faster than any broom he'd ever been on.

Judging they were high enough to not really be seen, he leveled off, his heart stuttering in his chest when the roar of the motorbike ceased. Panicking, he twisted the throttle harder and the machine sprang forward. "James, it's all right," Lily called over the sound of the rushing air. "I put a Silencing charm on it."

"Oh thank God! I thought it had quit on us!" He made an effort to not look like he'd nearly grabbed her and Apparated them safely to the ground, focusing on flying level, the lights of the sleeping world spread out below them. He glanced down at Lily, smiling at the way she looked with those silly goggles on and her long red hair streaming out behind her. She caught his eye and winked at him before resuming her sightseeing down below.

 _Fearless,_ he thought proudly, _how in the hell did I get so lucky?_ "Okay, love. Are we going the right way? I wasn't paying much attention."

Lily looked down, frowning in concentration and pointed to a wide ribbon of road that seemed to go on forever. "There, that's the M5. Follow that for now and then we'll go more easterly."

"You're the boss." James centered the motorbike on the road and turned up the throttle, finding the lack of sound from the motor combined with the constant vibration odd, almost like missing a curb when walking down the street. "How's the sprog?" he asked after several moments of silence.

"Sprog was quite energetic when all of the racket started up. I was afraid he was trying to make a break for it, but as soon as we were airborne, he quieted right down," Lily said, resting her hand on her belly.

"I knew this would do the trick. How's your back? Are you warm enough?"

"I'm all right for now. Oh, here, you see that smaller road? Follow that. We don't need to go all the way to Bristol."

James made the adjustment and settled back a little in the seat, feeling more comfortable handling the machine. _I can see why Sirius likes this so much. Damned thing must be one hell of a bird magnet._ He was idly musing on what sorts of women were attracted to a man on a motorbike when Lily broke into his thoughts. "What are you thinking?"

"What sort of girl likes a bloke on one of these," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively at his wife.

"Goodness," she said, shaking her head. "Though I do have to admit you do look pretty … striking there."

"Yeah?" James said, affecting a more casual posture only to have to make a quick move to keep the motorbike level. "Pretend that didn't happen and just focus on how amazing I look right now."

"So amazing." Lily rolled her eyes, hiding her smile behind her hand.

"Like that bloke in that Muggle thing we saw? The Crazy One or something?"

"What? The crazy—oh! You mean The Wild One with Marlon Brando." She squinted and cocked her head. "You don't have the hat. It needs the hat."

"You need a hat."

"You need to get a life," she retorted, sticking out her tongue.

"I don't need a life, I have a wife."

"Keep that up and we'll see how long she sticks around."

"I hope she sticks around forever." James held out his hand, getting a small thrill when she took it, squeezing hard as they flew through the night.

Lily proved to be an excellent navigator, guiding them unerringly to the little village where her sister and objectionable husband had made their home. "Um, which one is theirs? They all look the same," James said as he circled high above what he only vaguely remembered as their neighborhood.

"I'm not sure." She pointed to a dark spot on the edge of the neighborhood. "Put us down there, all right? I think I remember Tunie talking about how the house is close to the playground."

"Hang on, this might get a bit bumpy." James tried to remember what Sirius did when descending and he leaned forward, sending the front wheel of the motorbike down and carefully backed off on the throttle, setting them down with only a small bump.

"Well done, love! Madam Hooch herself couldn't have done better." James hopped off the motorbike after tapping the flashing green button once more, shutting off the motor. "Help me out of this thing." Lily held her hands out to him and he helped her get her feet back under her as she stepped gracelessly out of the sidecar, stumbling against him.

"Woah there, Evans. I think you've had enough to drink tonight!" James wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. "All right?"

"Sorry. My legs had gone to sleep. I'm all right now." She looked around at the sleeping neighborhood, lips pursed. "Now, if I were a completely boring, poncy arsehole, which house would I pick?"

"Looks like your poncy arseholes are spoiled for choice in this neighborhood." He swept out his arm toward the darkened houses. "Look at them. Every single one the same. Same paint, same garden … look, there's three in a row that even have the same car!"

"I bet this just offends your deep sense of originality, doesn't it, James Robert Potter?"

"Saucy wench. Let's go behind that hut and I'll show you how original I can be."

"We're supposed to be calming the sprog, not stirring him up. Come on." She took his hand and led him off the playground, toward a street that could have been anywhere. He looked up at the sign as they passed. _Privet Drive. Ugh, how … ordinary._

Mindful of the slumbering houses, they kept quiet as they walked along the pavement, Lily peering at house numbers until she pulled up to a stop. "There," she whispered, pointing to a home that was just a tiny bit more orderly than its neighbors. "Number four."

"You sure?" James peered doubtfully at the hedges trimmed within an inch of their lives, certain that if he held a ruler to them that they'd be perfectly straight.

"Yeah, come on." Lily seemed very intent now and he allowed himself to be pulled along in her wake. Cautiously, they crept toward the house, on the alert for any barking dogs. A silent _Alohomora_ took care of the locked side gate. Mindful of the dustbins, they made their way down the side of the house, noticing the light on in a window on the upper floor.

"Nursery?" James whispered and Lily nodded.

"Can we?"

James looked around for something he could use and his eyes settled on the dustbins. Pointing to a spot further down, he waited for Lily to move out of the way and then floated the bins over next to the wall underneath the window. Concentrating on not making any noise, he enlarged them until they were the right size for them to stand on and peek into the lit window.

"That's perfect. Send me up," Lily whispered, coming back to stand next to him. James carefully levitated his wife, setting her down on top of the mega-dustbin. A moment later he was floating through the air as she brought him up to join her.

They crouched down, listening for any sounds of disturbance inside. "If I look in that window and see Vernon naked, I am blaming you for every single one of my nightmares, got it?" James said, only half-joking.

"Don't be disgusting." Lily took one of his hands and squeezed very hard, straightening up slowly, the mellow light from the room falling onto her face. As he watched, her eyes went wide and a little animal sound escaped her throat.

Alarmed, he stood up straight, peering into the room as Lily squeezed his hand even harder. Inside, Lily's sister Petunia sat in a white wooden rocking chair, a swaddled bundle in her arms. The room itself looked like a baby store had gone bonkers and it was as if there were stuffed animals in just about every nook and cranny. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily cover her mouth and turned to see her staring avidly at her sister and nephew, eyes glassy with tears. He put his arm around her and pulled her tightly to him, pressing a kiss to her head, red hair soft against his lips.

"James," she whispered, voice hoarse with heartache as she gazed hungrily at the pair, hand pressed against the windowpane.

"I know, love, I know," he whispered, running his hand up and down her arm. "One day, yeah? Give her time."

"She's beautiful. I miss her so much. I wish we could see the baby." James had to work at not visualizing a tiny Vernon Dursley as he consoled his wife in her distress.

"You should send her a letter or use the telephone thing in the village. See if you can arrange something."

"Maybe," she said softly. "I'll see if I can call when Vernon's at work."

"At least let her know you're due soon. She'd want to know that, wouldn't she?"

"Oh, but James, what if … what if she's awful? I don't know that I could bear it." She laid her head on his shoulder and he hugged her tighter, letting out a sigh.

"Well, then she's awful and you've done all you can." She nodded and they continued watching as Petunia rocked with her new son, more than just a windowpane separating the two sisters. Finally, she stood up and carried little Dudley over to his cot, kissing the top of his head as she set him down in it. They caught a glimpse of a very pink face and that was all they saw, their view being taken over by Petunia's backside as she bent over the cot.

She turned toward the window and they ducked down as she approached, closing the curtains with a snap. They stayed still as mice, holding their breaths until the light went out. Standing straight once more, Lily clung to James, burying her face in his shoulder as she shook with silent sobs.

He made quiet shushing sounds, rubbing her back and hoping that her tumult wouldn't set the sprog to raising another ruckus. Gradually, she subsided and pushed away from him, wiping her eyes and nose. "Sorry. Hormones," she said, shrugging.

"It's all right. You ready?" She nodded and he carefully floated her back down to the ground. Once she had returned the favor, he shrunk the dustbins down to their normal size. He was tempted to make them just a bit smaller than standard to bedevil Vernon, but didn't want to make trouble for Petunia.

Back out in the front garden, Lily paused. "We didn't get him anything."

"Did you see that room? That kid's got plenty, believe me."

Lily huffed and tugged at his hand. "Don't be a berk, James. I just want to let her know that we were here." Her eyes cast around the scrupulously neat garden, finally finding a loose leaf that had somehow escaped attention. Intrigued, James watched as she summoned it to her and stared at it, a look of fierce concentration on her face. In the blink of an eye, a perfect glass lily was in her hand. "Stargazer," she said, smiling at him. "Mum always had these in her garden when we were little."

"It's beautiful," he said, full of admiration for her spellwork. _I hope our child is half as talented as she is._

"I'll leave it here to the side of the door. That way that Vernon won't smash it when he leaves for work in the morning." She floated it gently down to one side of the door. It looked very delicate there against the bricks of the front porch and James hoped it didn't just get smashed to bits. On that thought, he cast an Unbreakable on it. _There. Try and destroy that, you git._

Lily smiled up at him and took his hand again, drawing him back to the motorbike parked by the playground. They walked slowly back, enjoying the night in the quiet neighborhood, neither one really feeling the need to talk. He helped her clamber back into the sidecar, settling the wooly blanket over her lap.

As he was bent over her, she put her hand on his cheek, pulling him toward her for a lingering kiss. "What was that for?" he asked, lips tingling from the contact.

"Nothing. Just you."

"All right then. Good thing I'm me, yeah?"

"A very good thing." Lily rested her hands on her belly, putting him in mind of one of those Buddha statues they'd seen a ton of in London's Chinatown. "Come on, let's get home before the sprog wakes up again."

* * *

I jerked awake, momentarily confused to find myself in the bath, Ginny snuggled up against me. I rubbed my stiff neck as I remembered her early morning discomfort and drawing the bath. I looked at my wrinkled fingertips and then down at my still sleeping wife. _How long have we been in here?_ I craned my neck to see the clock we kept between the double sinks. _A bit after five. At least the water's still warm._

"Gin," I said softly, my voice sounding loud in the quiet room. She stirred and opened her eyes, blinking as she adjusted to the light.

"Harry? Are we still in the bath? What time is it?"

"A bit after five. Come on, let's get back to bed. Let me up." Ginny leaned forward and I stepped out of the tub, surprised that I wasn't stiff and sore. I dried off quickly, rejecting my boxers and helped Ginny out of the tub, giving her a brisk rubdown. She shook her head when I held up her nightdress and we got back into bed starkers. We hadn't gone to bed naked in ages and it felt deliciously decadent.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Ginny asked, curled up on her side around her big belly. I snuggled up behind her, molding my body to hers.

"Not too bad. You?"

"That was exactly what I needed. Did you have any dreams?"

I frowned, the sound of a motorbike in my memory. "I dunno. Maybe? I have the sound of a motorbike in my head for some reason."

"Anything's better than Ants Marching," Ginny snorted and I kissed her shoulder.

"And there we are. Thanks, love."

"Anytime," she said and was asleep two seconds later. I lay awake for a while longer, wondering if Aunt Petunia still had that beautiful glass stargazer lily.

* * *

"Ah, there she is," Sirius said as he threw open the door of the garden shed. "Did you miss me, baby?" The motorbike didn't respond, blue paint and chrome gleaming in the sunlight.

James watched as Sirius bent over the body of the machine, hands jammed in his jeans pockets. He smirked when his friend took a soft cloth out of his pocket and started wiping down the fuel tank. "So, everything went well in the Midlands, then?"

"Oh yeah, fine. Got some names to pass on to Dumbledore. All in a week's work." He pulled out a jar of cream and spread it on the leather seat, rubbing it in with smooth strokes. "Daddy missed you," he crooned as he worked.

"Sirius, are you going to ride that thing or make love to it?"

"James, you know she's a temperamental lady. I need to treat her right to get the best ride." Sirius looked up and gave him a wicked wink, grinning at the flush James felt on his face.

"Indeed. Well, she's all yours. Glad we could help you out," he said, feeling a small pang at the thought of Sirius taking the wonderful motorbike away with him. _Maybe I'll have to get him to help me enchant my own._

Something caught Sirius's eye and he cocked his head, brows furrowed. "James, are you certain that she stayed in the shed the whole time? You didn't go out on a bit of a joyride?"

"You know I can't drive that thing," James snorted, eyes searching the motorbike, frantically looking for a dent or splash of mud or speck of dust that would betray him. _We put the goggles back, I'm sure of it!_

"Care to explain this, then?" Sirius bent over the sidecar and picked out the single long, red hair that had caught his sharp eyes. It glinted in the sunlight, a glimmering accusation.

James sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, look, the sprog was acting up and giving Lily hell. You know flying is the only thing that settles him and Lil's too big to fly on her own …"


End file.
